


Two Souls

by medievalfantasyqueen



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Ending, F/M, Fix It, Force Bond (Star Wars), Movie: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-19
Updated: 2019-12-19
Packaged: 2021-02-18 12:36:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21860965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/medievalfantasyqueen/pseuds/medievalfantasyqueen
Summary: Rey was almost absolutely sure that she had died after defeating Palpatine. But, she was back. Someone had brought her back. But at what cost? No, there was no way Rey was going to accept that was the end. There had to be something else, anything she could do. For the first time in her life so far, she was going to do something to save not the galaxy, but the man she loves and to whom she owes it all.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 8
Kudos: 96





	Two Souls

**Author's Note:**

> This is set right after Rey wakes up after dying from her fight with Palpatine in The Rise of Skywalker. I was not too happy with the way it ended after giving everyone so much hope. There was more to Ben Solo than a sudden death, and he deserved more than just five seconds of happiness. And Rey deserved more than to be alone. I wrote itas a fix-it fic immediately after watching the film, and I would prefer to imagine this was how it all actually ended.

Rey gasped, and her eyes snapped open, taking in the shattered remains of all that was around her, the last remnants of the fallen Death Star, the ashes of the Sith, now gone forever. She was now aware of the rhythm of her beating heart, the air flooding her lungs once more, and her blood flowing with new energy, a life force that was not her own… Wait…

_Not her own…_

Rey’s trembling hand travelled down her torso, where it met another hand, cold and battered, and her newly beating heart stopped for a few moments again as she turned to look at the one who was holding her, no, cradling her in his arms.

_Ben._

She tried to say his name, but her throat was still parched. Her face streaked with blood, and her head throbbing with a constant ache, she managed to muster a smile, a weak one, but a smile, nevertheless. She nodded as much as her strength allowed her, and reached out to touch his face – also cold, no, colder than his hands were. His face was pale, and his lips were almost the colour of his skin, and he was looking at her, arms still holding her, as if he was afraid she would leave if he let her go.

 _We did it, Ben. We did it. Together._ Those were the words she wanted to say, but they stayed in her throat and did not escape her lips, as she leaned forward and kissed him, hoping that the warmth from her would pass to ease his alarming cold, her arms pulling him very gently forward. She felt his shallow breath against her face as she deepened the kiss, pouring all that she wanted to say to him, all her gratitude and her love into her hands and her lips, and as she pulled away, she smiled again, her hands brushing down his hair.

For a moment, he smiled back at her, the blood rushing back to his face, seemingly ridding him of his deathly pallor. And then, his eyes fluttered and he slumped forward.

“No!” Rey screamed, though her throat made it sound more like a squeak. “Ben, no!” And then she understood. That sudden vigour that rushed into her, the force that was pulling her back from the light ahead of her that made her certain she was dead, the vision flooding into her eyes that had been empty and open…

He had done it too.

That realisation hit Rey like a shower of bricks, and the tears running down her cheeks stung her cuts, but she did not care.

“Ben,” she whispered, holding him close to her, her fingers grazing his frozen face, and gently touching his lips. “Ben, don’t do this to me, come back, come back, please…” Her voice cracked and a light-headedness swallowed up her mind, and she closed her eyes and sobbed into his stiff shoulders.

“Please come back… I love you…”

No, no, no, no, no, this was not how it was supposed to be. Not when she first felt her connection to the man who seemed to only want to hunt her down, the man who was fighting not just one war, but two, the greater one within himself. This was not how it was supposed to be. This was not what Han or Luke or Leia, what anyone she loved died for. They left the world, placing all their trust in the hope that was to bring about a new world, a galaxy whose ruler was not any man or woman, but peace herself. An era of peace and love, where the only fights were for training, and no one went to sleep, afraid that they would not wake up the next day. Rey’s throat stung as she stroked Ben’s hair, taking care not to pull too hard on any tangles and she bent forward to kiss his forehead. This was not it. This was definitely not it.

And then, she felt it. That surging forward of pure, raw energy from within her. It was the Force, and yet something else. The voices of all those she knew, she met, and never met, rang once more in her ears. Master Luke Skywalker. Leia Organa. Anakin Skywalker. Master Yoda. Ashoka Tano. Mace Windu… And many more she could not put a name to… Yet…

Their voices had all formed a single cacophonous harmony, telling her one thing. _You will not be alone._

Rey forced herself to look up, her eyes squinting at the light that was pouring in through an opening on the canopy. “What is it?” She demanded. “What is it?”

 _You will not be alone._ The voices repeated, getting louder, and louder for a few seconds, before fading away, leaving Rey in the company of silence and her own mind, with the strange energy still coursing through her.

A wave of frustration washed over Rey as she groaned. Whatever that energy was, and whatever it was that the voices were telling her, what did they matter anymore? Yes, they won the war and defeated Palpatine once again… But _he_ was gone. He had won both his wars and was not here to celebrate the victory he deserved. She wished it was her instead, she had no one to go back to, no parents, no family. No, she _had_ family, and she had been her happiest for the short time she had with them. Finn, Poe, C-3PO, R2-D2, BB-8, Rose… General Organa… Everyone in the Resistance… They were her family, and they gave her hope when she thought had lost it all. She forced herself to look down once more, at Ben’s pale face, his eyes closed in slumber and his breaths silent. _He_ deserved at least some time of his own, some time to smile genuinely, basking in the glory of the wars he had fought and won. He deserved all of it…

And the energy surged again, this time, ringing in her ears, and pulsating in the palms of her hand, and Rey could see her own pulse throbbing lightly in her wrist…

Then, she stopped, her eyes fixed on the palm of her hand, before darting downwards to where Ben still lay in her lap. _Perhaps, she could just…_

No, there was no time to think. At least twenty full minutes had passed, and every second that crawled by was a precious second lost. No more, she would stop no more, hesitate no more. This was it. This was the moment of truth, the moment, she hoped against all hope, that she would finally be doing something, not to save the galaxy, but to save just the one who needed to see all of this.

She closed her eyes and exhaled, her hands shaking wildly as she pressed them to Ben’s chest, trying to ignore the startling lack of heartbeat she felt, choosing instead to focus on the energy within her. The Force. _The Force is always with me,_ she repeated in her mind, _the Force is always with me… The Force is always with me…_

She opened her eyes, and looked down. Ben still looked as pale as he was, and there was still nothing. Biting her lower lip in frustration, Rey closed her eyes again, siphoning all of the energy flow she felt within her, directing it to her arms and to her palms and to Ben.

_The Force is always with me… The Force is always with me…_

She kept her eyes closed, and listened for a change. But still, nothing. She carried on.

_The Force is always with me… The Force is always with me…_

Rey gasped. She felt something… Or thought she did. She forced herself to keep her eyes closed, and carried on.

_The Force is always with me… The Force is always with me…_

She felt the burning of the energy passing through her hands, the minute pop it made as it left her hand and moved outward and into Ben, and the tugging behind her head, the increasing intensity of the throbbing in her head.

_The Force is always with me… The Force is always with me…_

As she felt the final ounce of burning energy leaving her hands, Rey snapped her eyes open and gasped for air, and almost instantly, her heart shattered.

Ben was gone. All that remained on her lap were the robes he had worn, but he was gone.

“No,” Rey sobbed. “No, no, no, no, no!” This was not it, this was not what it was supposed to be! She grabbed at the robes, feeling them through and holding them close to her, closing her eyes and opening them again, clenching her fist and her eyes darting around in her desperation to find him, standing or sitting or anything at all. To hear that voice again, this time stripped of all the weight of the past wars, and battles and conflict…

“No, no, no! _Why?!_ ” Rey screamed, her voice raspy and sore, but she did not care. “Why?!”

“Well, that is one way to greet someone,” a familiar voice remarked from behind her, and Rey nearly snapped her neck as she turned around, pinching herself to assure herself that this was all real.

And there he was. Ben Solo, standing, his face still battered and bruised, but smiling down at her, his eyes red-rimmed but clear. “I’m sorry it took too long.”

“Ben!” Rey jumped up and threw herself into his arms, sobbing into his shoulder as he gently patted her back. “You are back, you are back…” She pulled away to look up at him, and reached gingerly to touch his face again, almost afraid that she would wake up from some strange dream and that he would disappear. “You are _truly_ back, aren’t you? You are not a ghost. Right?” She felt her voice waver at that last word, but she kept her eyes fixed on his face.

“No,” Ben replied, his voice also dry but firm. “No, I’m not. But you did it, Rey. You killed him, and you saved everyone. I knew you could.” He smiled down at her, his fingers interlocking with hers and he bent down to press his lips gently to hers, and then brushed her hair aside from her face. “You saved us all, Rey. You are our hero.”

“No,” Rey shook her head, the smile forming back on her cracked lips. “ _We_ did it. Together. We showed Palpatine that no matter how many ships he had, and how massive his fleet was, we would always win in the end.”

“But…” Ben started but Rey put a finger to his lips and shook her head.

“No,” she assured him. “No buts, we worked on this together. And you, Ben, I am so proud of _you._ Your parents will be proud of you. Your uncle will be proud of you.” She paused, and then added. “Your grandfather will be proud of you.”

Ben smiled and then worry flashed across his eyes. “I never would have thought any of this would have happened. I am sorry, when I saw you on the ground… I could not think of anything else, I only saw you… You… and… nothing else. I had to do it… And before that, all that I had done… I killed people, so… many people… And… ” He looked away but Rey turned his face towards her.

“Ben Solo, you are such a difficult person to be with, do you know that?” She smiled. “Stop doing that, you told me that my past didn’t matter anymore. You are not Kylo Ren anymore, you are Ben. Ben Solo, the son of Han Solo and General Leia Organa, two of the greatest heroes this galaxy has seen. You are a friend who knows when to help another in need. And more than that,” she smiled again, “you are you. It was _you_ who made this choice, who made the choice to leave all that behind and restore the peace the galaxy needs. _You_ made that choice because it was the one you would have always made. Never forget that. No one could have forced you to do anything you never wanted to.”

Ben looked at her, his eyes rimmed with tears and the smile still etched on his lips. That smile that was free, free from all the chains of the past. At last… “Thank you, Rey,” he breathed. “Thank you… so much…”

Rey felt her chest lighten as she watched him smile, and in spite of the cuts on her face, she smiled back at him, as widely as she could. This was it, this was all she had hoped for and more… The beacon that shone so brightly in the fog. Her heart raced with anticipation of what was to come, the surprise she had for her friends back at the base, that she did not do this alone, that she was never alone… The voices were right. No one was alone. The Force never abandoned those who had the greatest faith and hope, for hope was the only way anything could be restored. _Thank you,_ she muttered in her mind, hoping that the Jedi voices within her would hear, and she tiptoed once more, her lips meeting Ben’s again, as she held him close to her, her arms wrapping around him as his were around her, allowing herself to melt into his embrace... Two souls, connected as one… Strong enough to bring even the dead back to life…

Strong enough to defeat even the greatest of evil in the darkest of times… when hope was just a glimmer in the gaping darkness…

Strong enough to keep hoping, to keep fighting, in spite of it all…

Strong enough to love in spite of it all…

Rey waited for Ben to pull away, and stayed in his arms, her eyes closed and drinking in his scent, the gentle embrace of his arms around her, and the steady rhythm of his heartbeat, smiling giddily to herself. “Let us not keep your friends waiting, shall we?” Ben kissed her hair, and then smiled at her for the umpteenth time that evening, and held his hand towards her.

Rey glanced at the hand and took it, her grip tight and sure, leaning against him as they walked out of the Death Star, finally at ease with herself.

All was well. However long this was going to last, Rey knew that it was all going to be good.

Exactly as everyone would have wanted.


End file.
